His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: "And We followed them with 'Isa son of Maryam, confirming that which was before him of the Torah, and We gave him the Gospel, in which is guidance and light, and confirming that which was before him of the Torah, and guidance and a lesson for the righteous." "And let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, then those are the transgressors." "And We sent down to you the Book in truth, confirming that which was before it of the Book and a guardian over it." "And We followed"; it is a comparison; as if the coming of 'Isa - peace be upon him - was in the wake of the coming of the Prophets; and their departure; and the pronoun in "their traces" refers to the Prophets mentioned in His saying: "The Prophets judge by it" [Al-Ma'idah: 44]; and "confirming"; it is an emphatic state; and "the Torah"; is before 'Isa; because it came before him; just as the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - is before the Hour; and the saying on this meaning has preceded in other places.

And "the Gospel"; is a foreign name that has been taken in the derivation; from "najala"; if he extracted; and made clear; and the people read it with a kasrah on the hamzah; except for Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan; for he read "the Gospel"; with a fathah on the hamzah; and the saying on that has preceded at the beginning of Surah Al-Imran.

And guidance: it is the direction; and the call to the oneness of Allah and the revival of His rulings; and light: that which is in it by which one is illuminated; and "confirming"; it is an emphatic state that is conjoined to the position of the sentence which is: "in it is guidance"; for it is a sentence in the position of a state; and Al-Makki and others said: "confirming"; is conjoined to the first.

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And in this there is concern regarding the coherence of the meanings; and the people read: "and guidance and a lesson"; with the nasb; and that is a conjunction to "confirming"; and Al-Dahhak read: "and guidance and a lesson"; with the raf' and that is a valid direction; and the righteous were specified in the mention because they are the intended ones in the knowledge of Allah; and although all are called and advised; but that is upon the non-righteous, blindness and confusion.

And Ubayy ibn Ka'b read: "And let him judge"; with the addition of "that"; and Hamzah alone read: "and let him judge"; with a kasrah on the lam; and a fathah on the meem; on the lam of "to"; and the verb was made nasb by it; and the meaning is: "And We gave him the Gospel to contain guidance and light and confirmation; so that its people may judge by what Allah has revealed therein"; and the remaining seven read: "and let them judge"; with the lam of command being silent; and the verb was made jazm; and the meaning of His command to them to judge is: "Thus it is obligatory upon them"; and it is good after that to stop at the warning of whoever opposes what Allah has revealed; and among the reciters are those who break the lam of command; and make the verb jazm; and a similar verse has preceded; and the establishment of these attributes for whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed is for the purpose of emphasis; and the most correct thing said regarding it is that it encompasses every believer and every disbeliever; so all of that comes for the disbeliever in the most complete forms; and for the believer in the meaning of disbelief of disobedience; and its injustice; and its transgression.

And Allah, the Most High, informed after that about the descent of this Qur'an; and His saying: "with the truth"; it is possible that He means: containing the truths of matters; as if it descended with them; and it is possible that He means that He revealed it because that was justified; not that it was obligatory upon Allah; but it was justified in itself; and He, the Most High, revealed it as a guidance for His servants; and His saying: "from the Book"; He means from the revealed books; for it is a generic name; and the expressions of the interpreters differed regarding the meaning of "Muhaymin"; Ibn Abbas said: "And Muhaymin": a witness; and he also said: a guardian; and Ibn Zayd said: its meaning is: a confirmer; and Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan said: trustworthy; and Al-Zajjaj narrated: close; and the term Muhaymin is more specific than these words; because the Muhaymin over a thing is the one concerned with its matter; the witness to its truths; the guardian of its outcome; so he does not include in it what is not from it; and Allah - blessed and exalted is He - is the Muhaymin over His creatures; and His servants; and the guardian is Muhaymin over his wards; and their wealth; and the leader is Muhaymin over his subjects; and their conditions; and the Qur'an made it a Muhaymin over the books; witnessing to what is in them of truths; and against what the distorters attributed to them; so it corrects the truths; and invalidates the distortion; and this is a witness, a confirmer, a guardian, and trustworthy; and Muhaymin; based on the active participle form; Abu Ubaidah said: and there have come in the speech of the Arabs on this form only four words; and they are: "Musaytir"; and "Mubaytir"; and "Muhaymin"; and "Mujaymir"; and Abu Al-Qasim Al-Zajjaj mentioned - in his explanation of the beginning of "The Etiquette of Writing" - and "Mubayqir"; it is said: "Bayqara the man"; if he traveled from Hijaz to Sham; and from horizon to horizon; and "Bayqara"; also: played the Bayqara; which is a game played by children; and Mujahid said: His saying, the Most High: "And Muhaymin over it"; means Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him -; he is a guardian over the Qur'an.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: Al-Tabari - may Allah have mercy on him - erred in this wording regarding Mujahid. He interpreted its meaning based on the reading of the people: "and muhayminan"; with the second meem being broken. Thus, the interpretation is far-fetched. Mujahid - may Allah have mercy on him - reads, he and Ibn Muhaisin: "muhayminan 'alayh"; with the second meem being opened. It is the form of the name of the one who is acted upon; and it is a state of the Book; it is conjoined to his saying: "mussaddiqan"; and on this it is directed that the one who is entrusted is Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him -; and "'alayh"; is in the position of raising; based on the estimation that it is an object whose doer is not named; this is according to the reading of Mujahid. Likewise, Makki - may Allah have mercy on him - followed this path and delved into the way of Al-Tabari in this matter. Abu Abbas Muhammad ibn Yazid Al-Mubarrid - may Allah have mercy on him - said: "muhaymin" originally is: "mu'aymin" - from the tribe of Amin; its hamzah was replaced with a haa; as they say: "araqtu al-ma'a"; and "haraqtu"; Al-Zajjaj said: and this is good according to the Arabic language; and it is in agreement with what has come in the tafsir; that the meaning of "muhaymin" is: "mu'taman"; and Ibn Qutaybah narrated this which Al-Mubarrid said in some of his books; and Al-Naqqash reported that this reached Tha'alab; and he said: "What Ibn Qutaybah said is poor"; and he said: "This is false; and the jumping upon the Qur'an is severe; and it is what he heard the hadith from a strong person; not a weak one; and he only compiled the books"; this concludes the words of Tha'alab.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And it is said from "muhaymin": "haymana al-rajulu 'ala al-shay'i"; if he preserved it; and protected it; and became established upon it. It is possible that "mussaddiqan"; and "muhayminan"; are two states from the kaaf in "ilayka"; and this does not specifically pertain to the reading of Mujahid alone; as Makki claimed.

His saying - glorified and exalted is He -:

﴿So judge between them by what Allah has revealed and do not follow their desires away from what has come to you of the truth. For each, We have made a law and a method. And if Allah had willed, He would have made you one nation. But He intends to test you in what He has given you. So race to good deeds. To Allah is your return all together, and He will inform you of that in which you used to differ﴾

Some scholars said: This abrogates His saying: ﴿Or turn away from them﴾ [Al-Ma'idah: 42]; and it has been previously mentioned.

The majority said: It is not an abrogation; and the meaning is: "If you choose to judge, then judge between them by what Allah has revealed."

Then He warned His Prophet against following their desires; meaning: their lusts; and their will which is a desire and a messenger for the soul; and the soul is commanding to evil; thus its desire is certainly destructive; and here it is good to include "'an"; in His saying: ﴿'amma ja'aka min al-haqq﴾; when the speech is in the meaning: "Do not turn away; or do not be diverted according to their desires away from what has come to you."

The interpreters have differed in the meaning of His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: ﴿For each, We have made a law and a clear path﴾. Ali ibn Abi Talib - may Allah be pleased with him - and Qatadah, along with the majority of the speakers, said: The meaning is: For each nation among you, We have made a law and a clear path; that is: for the Jews, there is a law and a clear path; and for the Christians likewise; and for the Muslims likewise.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: This is with them in rulings; but as for beliefs, the religion is one for all the world; it is the Oneness of Allah and belief in resurrection; and affirmation of the messengers; and Allah, the Exalted, has mentioned in His Book a number of prophets; their laws are different; then He said to His Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him -: ﴿Those are the ones whom Allah has guided, so follow their guidance﴾ [Al-An'am: 90]; this is with the scholars in beliefs only; but as for the laws, this verse is decisive in it: ﴿For each, We have made a law and a clear path﴾.

(p-185) The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: The first interpretation is what people hold; and it is possible that what is meant by His saying: ﴿For each, We have made a law and a clear path﴾; is the nations, as we have mentioned; and it is possible that what is meant is the prophets; especially since their mention and the mention of what was revealed to them has preceded; and this verse comes with this possibility regarding the prophets as a reminder to Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him -; that is: preserve your law and your clear path so that the Jews and others do not mislead you in any of it.

And the interpreters hold that the law and the clear path in this verse are two terms; with one meaning; and that is that the law and the Shari'ah is: the way to water; and other things that are often referred to; from that is the saying of the poet:

And in the laws of Jallan is one who hunts ∗∗∗ in worn-out clothes, with a quiet voice, he is called upon.

He meant: in the ways to water; and from it: the shar'i; and it is the paths of the cities; and from it is the saying of the people: 'And in it, the door is opened'; and the clear path also means: the way; and from it is the saying of the poet:

Whoever is in doubt, this is the clear path ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ water is abundant and the path is clear.

He meant: clear; and the clear path is an exaggerated form of that.

Ibn Abbas and others said: ﴿law and clear path﴾; its meaning is: a way; and a Sunnah.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: The wording of the verse may intend by the law: the rulings; and by the clear path: the belief; that is: it is one among all of you; and in this possibility, there is distance.

And the readers are on "law"; with the 'sheen' being broken; and Ibrahim Al-Nakha'i and Yahya ibn Wathab read: "law"; with the 'sheen' being opened.

Then Allah, the Most High, informed that if He had willed, He would have made the world one nation. However, He did not will it, because He intended to test them and try them regarding what He has given them of the books and the laws. This is what Ibn Jurayj and others said. They have no choice but to strive in obeying the commands. This is the race towards good deeds. For this reason, He commanded them with the best of things for them in consequence. Then He urged them, the Most High, with admonition and reminder of the Hereafter, in His saying: "To Allah is your return all together." The meaning is: "So hasten, hasten." And His saying, the Most High: "Then He will inform you of what you used to differ about," means: "The reward and punishment will be made apparent, and you will be informed of it as a reality." Otherwise, Allah has already informed in this world of the truth regarding what the nations have differed about.

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And this verse is remarkable in eloquence; it gathered many meanings in simple words. And every book of Allah, the Most High, is like that; however, due to the limitations of our understanding, some parts are clearer to us than others.